The Battle of Fort Sackville appears in every history of Vincennes and Knox County, yet so much more defines this area. Everyone is familiar with George Rogers Clark, but few know about ordinary but accomplished figures like diplomat Hubbard Taylor Smith

Knox County native Brian Spangle graduated from Indiana State University with a master's degree in history in 1985. He was employed at the Knox County Public Library for thirty years, retiring from his position as historical collection administrator in 2016. He has written a local history column for the Vincennes Sun-Commercial since 1999. In 2015, he published his first collection of those columns in Vincennes History You Don't Know. In 2017, Spangle received the prestigious Hubert Hawkins History Award for distinguished service in local history from the Indiana Historical Society. In 2019, he was presented the National Historic Preservation Award from the Francis Vigo Chapter DAR.